# Scheduled actions

Source: https://catalystgroup.gg/docs/email-delivery/scheduled-actions/
Updated: 2026-10-19 · By Duane Garner

Understand the background tasks CRM-NG SMTP runs, read their status on Tools → Scheduled Actions, and get the queue moving again when it stalls.

Some of CRM-NG SMTP's work happens in the background, away from the pages your visitors load. The **Scheduled Actions** tab shows that background work and whether it is keeping up. This article explains what the tasks are, how to read the list, and what to do when tasks pile up. It is for administrators and developers checking that queued emails and weekly jobs actually run.

 

## What the queue does

 

CRM-NG SMTP uses Action Scheduler, a widely used background task library for WordPress, to run jobs such as:

 

| Task name | What it does | When it exists |
| --- | --- | --- |
| crmng_smtp_queue_process | Checks the email queue about once a minute | While Optimize Email Sending is on |
| crmng_smtp_send_enqueued_email | Sends one queued email | One per queued email |
| crmng_smtp_queue_cleanup | Removes finished entries from the queue once a day | While Optimize Email Sending is on |
| crmng_smtp_summary_report_email | Sends the weekly Email Summaries on Mondays | While Email Summaries are on |
| crmng_smtp_process_debug_events_cleanup | Deletes debug events older than the retention period | When a retention period other than Forever is set |

 

The email log cleanup and the email log's own weekly summary use WordPress's built-in scheduler (WP-Cron) instead, so they are not listed here.

 

## Open the tab

 

Go to **CRM-NG SMTP → Tools → Scheduled Actions**. The tab opens with a search for `crmng_smtp` already applied, so you only see CRM-NG SMTP's tasks. Remove the search with the small cross next to **Search results for** to see everything.

 

> **Other plugins use it too:** Action Scheduler is shared. WooCommerce and many other plugins use it, so without the search you will see their tasks as well. Leave those alone.

 

## Reading the list

 

Each row is one task run. The main columns are the task name (the **Hook**), its **Status**, its arguments, its group, when it is or was scheduled, and its log.

 

The status links above the list filter by state:

 

| Status | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| Pending | Waiting for its scheduled time |
| In-progress | Running now |
| Complete | Finished successfully |
| Failed | Started but hit an error. Open its log to see why. |
| Canceled | Called off, for example because you turned a feature off |
| Past-due | Its time has passed but it has not run yet |

 

A few **Pending** tasks are normal: the next queue check, next Monday's summary, and so on. Finished queue checks are tidied away automatically, so the list does not grow forever.

 

## Signs the queue has stalled

 
- Many tasks marked **Past-due**, especially `crmng_smtp_send_enqueued_email`.
- Emails arriving long after they were sent, or not at all, while **Optimize Email Sending** is on.
- The weekly summary not arriving on Monday.

 

### Why it stalls

 

Action Scheduler is woken up by visits to your site, the same way WP-Cron is. It stalls when:

 
- **Your site has very few visitors**, so nothing triggers the queue for long stretches.
- **WP-Cron is turned off** with `define( 'DISABLE_WP_CRON', true );` in `wp-config.php`, but no real server cron job was set up to replace it.
- **Your host blocks your site from calling itself** (loopback requests), which background processing relies on.
- **A task keeps failing**, for example because of a fatal error in another plugin.

 

### Getting it moving again

 
1. Run the queue now
  Hover over a pending CRM-NG SMTP task and choose **Run**. This proves the task itself works.
2. Add a real cron job
  Ask your host to call `https://www.example.com/wp-cron.php?doing_wp_cron` every minute or every five minutes, using your own address. This is the reliable fix for quiet sites and sites with WP-Cron off.
3. Check loopback requests
  Go to **Tools → Site Health** in WordPress. If it reports that loopback requests fail, ask your host to allow them.
4. Read failed task logs
  Open any **Failed** task and read its log for the error.

 

If you use WP-CLI, `wp action-scheduler run` processes due tasks from the command line, which also suits a server cron job.

 

> **Quick workaround:** If queued emails are stuck and you need mail flowing now, switch **Optimize Email Sending** off on the **Misc** tab. New emails are then sent straight away. Already-queued emails are still sent by the queue, so keep reading until it is healthy.

 

## Related

 
- [Action Scheduler issues](https://catalystgroup.gg/docs/email-delivery/action-scheduler-issues/)
- [Miscellaneous settings](https://catalystgroup.gg/docs/email-delivery/misc-settings/)
- [The weekly email summary](https://catalystgroup.gg/docs/email-delivery/weekly-email-summary/)
- [Debug events](https://catalystgroup.gg/docs/email-delivery/debug-events/)
- [Site Health checks](https://catalystgroup.gg/docs/email-delivery/site-health-checks/)